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Authors
Abstract
A novel solid-state fault isolation device (FID) can be considered a modern version of the circuit breaker that is used to protect a circuit from damage caused by a short circuit or a power overload. The solid state FID is required to block about 15kV and to have a low saturation current to prevent premature device destruction before the fault is isolated. The device should be capable of turning itself off when the fault is detected. Above all, the on-state loss of the device is the key feature in selecting the device since it is normally on. Several 4H-SiC power devices were studied to evaluate the forward voltage drops while considering the difficulty in device fabrication. Satisfying all aspects mentioned above, a novel field controlled diode (FCD) is proposed. Very low saturation current with low forward voltage drop at operating current of the proposed FCD are verified by the 2D device simulation. The application of the FCD as a FID is also simulated by configuring a simple power distribution system. When the power line is shorted, the line current increases. As a result, the voltage between each FID will increase following the I-V characteristics of the FCD. Detecting the voltage increase of the FID, the line where the faults happen will be disconnected by turning off the FID. This concept of fault isolation is valid not only for the DC but the AC power distribution system.